1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a loading system for a vehicle, and particularly to a rotating lift system for loading and unloading equipment, such as combine heads and other agricultural implements, on trailers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Implements and equipment for tillage, cultivation and other agricultural operations have been developed with the objectives of increasing efficiency and lowering operating costs. For example, wider equipment tends to be more efficient because greater field areas can be covered with fewer passes in less time. Tractors have tended to become larger in order to accommodate such wider implements and their greater towing power requirements.
Modern agricultural operations commonly require equipment adapted for transporting over public roads. For example, many farmers and farming operations work multiple, noncontiguous fields with the same equipment, which must be configured to comply with traffic regulations, including maximum width requirements. Various implement transport mechanisms have been developed for this purpose. For example, implements are commonly designed to fold and unfold between field use and transport configurations.
Transporting oversize implements commonly involves placing them on transport vehicles, such as trailers, with their long dimensions generally aligned with the direction of travel. For example, the Mefferd et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,259 shows an implement supported on auxiliary wheels and drawn by a vehicle attached to an end of the implement. Alternatively, an implement can be reoriented by a device that rotates it. For example, the Van Selus U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,698 discloses a trailer apparatus incorporating a turntable supported on a trailer body wherein a lift and support assembly is mounted on the turntable for lifting an implement and supporting it in an elevated position with the elongated dimension of the implement extending parallel to the direction of travel.
A further example is shown in the Shannon U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,918, which discloses an implement transporter including a trailer having a lifting and rotating mechanism for engaging, lifting and rotating an implement. The weight of the implement is supported by a roller, and the lifting mechanism is guided through an arcuate path-of-movement by an arm pivoted adjacent to one side of the trailer whereby the supported implement may be rotated 90 degrees relative to the trailer.
Yet another example is shown in the Pingry et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,238,170, which describes an implement transporter including a trailer having a lifting and rotating mechanism for engaging, lifting and rotating the implement. The trailer includes a turntable supporting a cantilevered arm and the cantilevered arm includes a lift and support assembly.
Heretofore there has not been available a rotating lift mechanism with the advantages and features of the present invention.